Half to john tjeba



(No Model.)

' I S. VETSBURG.

FASTENING FOR SHOES;

No. 314,550. Patenfied Mar. 24, 1885.

' UNITED STATES PATENT Trice.

I SIGMUND VETSBURG, OF JEFFERSON CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE' HALF TO JOHN URBAN, OF SAME PLACE.

FASTENING FOR SHOES.

SPECIFICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 314,550, dated March 24-, 1885.

Application filed August .28, P84. (No model.)

To all whom, it Til/(6Z1 concern.-

Be it known that I, SIGMUND Vnrsnone, of Jefferson City, in the county of Cole, and in the State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fastenings for Shoes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a persptctive view of a shoe provided with my improved fastening, said fastening being opt-ned. Fig. 2 is a like view of the same with the fastening closed. Fig. 3 is a perspective view from the lower side of said fastening separated from the shoe and having its parts opened. Fig. at is a like view of the same when closed, and Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the fastening on line as 00 of Fig. 4.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of the figures.

The design of my invention is to enable a shoe to be easily and quickly fastened and unfastened; to which end said invention consists in the construction of parts and their combi nation with the straps of a shoe, substantially as and for the purpose hereinafter specified.

In the annexed drawings, A represents the frame or body of my device,which in plan view has substantially the general form of a horseshoe, is curved longitudinally, and around its inner edge is provided with a flange, a, that extends downward at a right angle to the face of said frame. At its rear end said flange is slotted, so as to form at such point a crossbar, a, that is adapted to receive a strap.

Pivoted to the front ends of the flanges a is an open bar or link, B, which has a width that just permits it to be contained within the space between said flanges and a length slightly greater than the length of said space. Theinner end, I), of said bar or link has substantially a right angle to its sides, and serves to receive one of the shoe-straps, while the opposite end of said link is preferably curved, as shown.

In use the strap 0, at the inner side of a shoe, 0, is attached to or upon the crossbar a, and the opposite outer strap, 0, is attached to the inner end, I), of the pivoted link B, thelength to hold said inner end firmly upward against said frame, and thus keeps the shoe fastened.

To unfasten the shoe, the outer end of the pivoted link B, with the outer end of the frame A, is raised until the inner end of the former falls below the plane ofits pivots and the crossbar a, after which said bar may be turned to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and the straps c and c liberated, so as to permit of the removal of the shoe from the foot ofits wearer.

To fasten the shoe in place, it is only necessary that the outer end of the fastening be turned downward to its former position, when it will be so firmly locked in place as to beincapable of accidental displacement.

It is desirable to provide a stop to limit the upward movement of the inner end of pivoted link B. Without some such stop as this end of the link is when the shoe is fastened above the plane of the pivotal bearing of the bar and the crossbar a, the pull or stress of strap 0' upon such inner end will tend to swing it farther outward or upward, and so will cause the outer shorter end of link B to bear down upon the shoe and foot. This is objectionable, not only on account of the pressure upon the foot, but because with feet of different sizes and shapes the inner end of link B would be allowed to stand at different heights with reference to the frame to which the link is pivoted. Besides, as the outer end of the link would be forced down against the shoe, it could not be conveniently taken hold of for raising when the shoe is to be unfastened. these objections by making my fastening with the inner edges of the horseshoeshaped plate A overlapping or extending at a a inward beyond the flanges a a.

YVhen the inner end of the link B is swung I avoid all t inward and upward, as in fastening the shoe, it comes in contact with and is stopped by these overlapping edges of plate A. The outer short end of the link then stands close to but out of contact with the shoe, in position to be easily raised when desired to undo the fastenlng.

To allow free swing of the link on its pivots when the outer end thereof is raised, the overlapping inner edges, a a", of the plate A are cut away near such pivots, so as to be substantially flush with the inner sides of flanges a a, as shown in the drawings.

The cross-bar a is below and entirely concealed by the broad end of the plate A, so that the loop of the strap cis concealed and protected by the plate, and consequently cannot act to catch the bottom of the pantaloons of the wearer.

Having thus fully set forth the nature and merits of my invention, what I claim is 1. The fastening for shoes and the like, consisting of the curved bifurcated frame provided with a cross-bar, in combination with the curved link pivoted to and within the frame and provided with a crossbar-at or near with a cross-bar to receive a second strap, and 3 5 the curved covering-plate attached to or made in one piece with the flanges and former crossbar and having portions overlapping or projecting inward beyond the sides of the flanges to form a stop for the innerend of the pivoted 4o link, all combined substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 15th day of August, 1884.

SIGMUN D VETSBURG.

Witnesses:

J. D. THURMOND, JOHN PRICE. 

